MAKING PROGRESS - Dave Carducci from the Record Courier checks in and compares where the Golden Flashes men's basketball team were at last year to this year.

NCAA UPHOLDS PENALTIES AGAINST SENDEROFF - The NCAA upheld penalties on Monday against Kent State Associate Head Coach Rob Senderoff for recruiting violations committed while he was at Indiana under Kelvin Sampson.

Welcome home, Golden Flashes. After not playing at home since November 22, Kent State returned to the M.A.C. Center with an 85-76 win over the Islanders from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Kent State improves to 6-4 on the season.

The holiday season is upon us and KSU was all about giving tonight. The Golden Flashes assisted on 25 of their 29 made field goals. The 25 assists replace Kent State's previous season high of 13 assists against Green Bay.

KENT: The adage ''home sweet home'' may never have meant as much to the Kent State men's basketball team as it does Sunday with the team playing at home in the friendly confines of the M.A.C. Center for the first time in nearly month.

- I went and watched Cleveland State men's basketball host Robert Morris last night. The Colonials beat CSU 78-70. Kent State will play at Robert Morris on Tuesday, December 22. RMU went 24-11 last season, won the NEC and went to the NCAA tournament. The Golden Flashes should have their hands full playing a deep, athletic squad from RMU. The Colonials were able to go out and play 10 players last night with very little drop off. RMU had seven players score seven or more points. RMU has guards that can push the tempo and attack the basket with aggression (Velton Jones, Mezie Nwigwe, Karon Abraham and Gary Wallace) and big men who are versatile, athletic and can finish at the rim (Russell Johnson, Brad Piehl and Dallas Green). The Colonials also feature a very colorful, loud, communicative head coach in Mike Rice. Rice received a technical foul in the early moments and was nearly ejected by a crew that included men who are no stranger to MAC games, Jerry Sauder and J.D. Collins.

After the game Rice said this about his team. "If you look at our points per game we don't have a guy in double digits, but you just don't know who is going to be the guy with the hot hand in any game. When you have that luxury of depth, it's something good to have. You put your subs in and expect them to be role players and continue to attack."

Kent State President Lester Lefton knew it wasn't going to be easy to replace longtime Golden Flashes Athletic Director Laing Kennedy, who is retiring June 30 after 16 years overseeing the school's sports departments.

Pittsburgh improved to 72-1 all time at the Petersen Events Center against non-conference opponents and held off Kent State, winning 71-59 on Saturday afternoon in a nationally televised game on ESPNU.

The Golden Flashes came up with a hard fought effort, but couldn't overcome their own offensive struggles. Kent State shot 37 percent (23/63) in the game, including a dismal 3/19 on three pointers, including 0/9 in the second half. The Golden Flashes shot just 33 percent in the second half.

His tremendous knowledge of pitching, and specifically pitching mechanics, helped him coach three All-Americans, 12 all-conference selections, eight all-region selections, six Mid-American Conference Pitchers of the Year, four Varsity ''K'' Hall of Fame members and three first-round draft selections in his eight seasons with Kent State (1986, 1989-1996).

Kent State got off to a great start on Friday night at Xavier. The Flashes forced nine turnovers in the first 14 minutes of the first half and held a 29-17 lead. Xavier closed the first half on a 19-5 run to take a 36-34 lead going into halftime.

The Musketeers took control of the game in the second half after going on a 9-0 run.

Dave Carducci at the Record Courier reports that Kent State is almost ready to begin its quest for a new athletic director. Laing Kennedy will retire at the end of this school year.

Some of the highlights of Kennedy’s tenure at Kent State have been the addition of two new sports (women’s soccer and women’s golf), the installation of lights, a new scoreboard and seating at Dix Stadium and new state-of-the-art FieldTurf playing surface; new locker rooms in the M.A.C. Center for the volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, wrestling and gymnastics teams; the construction of Murphy-Mellis Field (field hockey); Olga Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium (baseball); the Ferrara & Page Golf Training Center facility; and the renovation of the entire Dix Stadium Complex including the Kent State softball stadium. One of the biggest accomplishments has been the full certification status announced by the NCAA in 1997 and again in 2004. (Courtesy of Kent State Athletic Communications)

Kent State is expected to open the 2010 football season on Saturday, September 4 when the Golden Flashes host FCS opponent Murray State. It will be the first ever meeting with Murray State.

KSU will travel to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions on Saturday, September 18. Kent State is 0-2 all time against Penn State, with the last meeting coming in 2003 when Penn State defeated the Flashes 32-10.

Be sure to tune in tonight to the 'Inside Kent State Sports Show' from the Water Street Tavern in Kent. Tom Linder and the gang will have a football wrap up show from 6-7 p.m. Fans can listen in person at the Water Street Tavern, at Fox Sports Radio 1350 AM or at sportsradio1350.com.

Junior free safety Brian Lainhart, junior linebacker Cobrani Mixon and sophomore punter Matt Rinehart were named to the All-MAC 1st Team on Wednesday. Junior defensive end Monte Simmons was named to the second team. It is the most selections on the first team since 1997 when the Flashes had four players on the first team. Official MAC release.

The Kent State women's soccer team has received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Team Academic Award for their success during the 2008-09 season.

Kent State ranked eighth in Division I with a 3.52 GPA. Kent State’s 3.52 GPA was also 20th among all women’s teams that submitted team GPA’s to the NSCAA. Submissions came from all three NCAA divisions as well as NAIA and NJCAA schools.